Discuss children's understanding and reaction to death.

Answers will vary. Children, for example, seem to follow something of a Piagetian route in their cognitive development although reversibility is reversed-in other words, they begin by thinking of death as reversible and, by about the time they enter school, they see it as irreversible. Many young children lack the cognitive ability to understand the permanent nature of death. Preschoolers may think that death is reversible or temporary, a belief reinforced by cartoon characters that die and come back to life again. Nevertheless, their thinking becomes increasingly realistic as they progress through the ages of four through seven. It appears that children's understanding of death is increased as they learn about the biology of the human body and how various organs contribute to the processes of life. Loss is often most difficult to bear for children, especially when it involves the loss of a parent. Death of a loved one strikes at the core of a child's sense of security and well-being. Older children may feel guilty because of the mistaken belief that they brought about the death by once wishing for the person to die. The loss of security may lead to anger, which may be directed toward surviving family or expressed in aggressive play. They also may show regressive or infantile behaviors, such as talking "baby talk" or becoming more demanding of food or attention. Some children may persist for several weeks in maintaining the belief that the deceased person is still alive. Though child psychiatrists believe this is normal, prolonged denial can be a harbinger of the development of more severe problems. When children learn about death, it is normal for them to fear it. But children in various cultures are also taught that it is possible to survive death, either through reincarnation, as in some Eastern religions, or as in the transcendence of the soul, as in Christianity. Children in the United States are sometimes told things like "Your father is now in heaven and you will see him there again. Meanwhile, he is watching over you." The concept of surviving death renders death less permanent and less frightening to many children-and adults.